Love Is ___

Viewing a depiction of love and relationships as a quest equally as important to men as it is to women grants Love Is ___ a layered sensitivity we don’t often seen on television.

The producers of Love Is __ clearly know this terrain better than most. And they hope to make it accessible to audiences of all colors without losing the flavors that make it unique.

The scenes with their friends tend to be livelier and lighter and more ordinarily lifelike than those that Nuri and Yasir have together. They keep Love Is_ from sinking under the weight of its own ardent sincerity.

As good as Weaver and her Nuri are, the best scenes belong to Victor and her Angela Brown. ... Never bet against a show created by Mara Brock Akil, but feel-good "Love Is __" could use a little more edge and a lot more dramatic tension.

OWN’s syrupy immersion romance Love Is__ leads with a 1990s meet-tepid between two Hollywood wannabes and then glides along like molasses, allowing low-stakes minutiae to dominate the plotting.

Love Is has one problem that keeps it from truly working like it could: the chemistry between its leads, a crucial component of any worthwhile rom-com, falls flat when it should fizz. Weaver, at least, is effervescent, giving Nuri a confidence and palpable longing for stability that makes her truly magnetic. Both Yasir and Catlett, however, struggle to keep up with her.